Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils.^[1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1859.

Dinosaurs

Newly named dinosaurs

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Astrodon[2] Valid Johnston Early Cretaceous (Aptian/Albian boundary) Arundel Formation  United States ( Maryland) An indeterminate titanosauriform. Compsognathus Valid Wagner Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Solnhofen Limestone  Germany  France A compsognathid. Hadrosaurus[3] Valid Joseph Leidy Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) Woodbury Formation  United States  New Jersey A hadrosaurid. Scelidosaurus[4] Valid Sir Richard Owen Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) Blue Lias  UK A basal thyreophoran.

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name	Age	Location	Notes	Images
Dimorphodon	195 Millions years ago	Mexico UK Antarctica	A dimorphodontid; new generic name for Pterodactylus macronyx. A shellfish-eating Pterosaur.

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Genus	Age	Location	Notes	Images
Galesaurus	252 Millions of years ago	South Africa